*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I absolutely adored Johnson's debut, The Space Between Worlds so I was thrilled when I saw that her sophomore release was going to be a companion sequel to that. This follows a side character from the first book in the years following those events. I don't necessarily think you have to read The Space Between Worlds to understand this, but it would probably help.

That being said, tonally this book is much angrier. Mr. Scales is just as complex and interesting as Cara was in the first book but where Cara has managed to leave Ashtown behind, Mr. Scales is firmly enmeshed as an enforcer in Ashtown so we get to see more of their society, which is fascinating to me. 

There are so many twists and turns here that I don't want to say much about the plot other than, there is a coming apocalypse and I found myself fully engrossed in the story being told. I didn't love this as much as I loved the first book, mostly because there were some character decisions that seemed questionable to me, but I did really have a good time with this story. The discussions of  xenophobia and comparisons to real-world events are even more on the nose here and I think the author's note really sets the tone for where this story goes. I'm not sure if Johnson would ever write more in this world, but if she does I would absolutely pick it up.

Also, while not in any way a major plot element, there was a romantic pairing that had me absolutely feral in a very unexpected way and I loved it.